Feeding mechanism for sewing-machines.



No. 781,596. PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905. Z. T. FRENCH & W. G. MEYER.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED MAB.10,1900.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Hit l h FIEEIEES'I EFLFFSI 2 ZZZ"? No. 781,596. PATENTBD JAN. 31, 1905.Z. T. FRENCH & W. O. MEYER.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAE.10, 1900.

No. 781,596. PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905. Z. T. FRENCH & W. G. MEYER.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLIOATIOH FILED MAB.10,1900.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

T E u -UNTTED STATES Patented January 31, 1905 PATENT OFFICE.

ZACHARY T. FRENCH AND "ILLIAZYI C. MEYER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHU- SETTS;SAID FRENCH ASSIGNOE TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COM- PANY, A CORPORATIONOF MAINE.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,596, dated January31, 1905.

Application filed March 10, 1900. Serial No. 8,196.

To 111/ whom, it Uta/y concern;

Be it known that we, ZAOIIARY T. FRENCH and \Vtccmn C. MEYER, of Boston,county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented anImprovement in Feeding Mechanism for Sewing-Machines, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like characters on the drawings representing likeparts.

This invention has for its object to improve and simplify theconstruction of feeding mechanism for sewing-machines, and is especiallydesigned for use in connection with rapidlyoperating stitch-formingdevices.

Feeding mechanism embodying this invention consists, essentially, ofafeeding-awl and a channel-guide located at one side of the work and aback-gage, which may also serve as a welt-guide, located at the oppositeside of the work, which is adapted to cooperate with said channel-guideto hold the work at certain times during the formation of the stitches.The channel-guide is so disposed relatively to the needle-thread take-upthat as said take-up rises to set the stitch the pull upon theneedlethread will be resisted by said channel-guide, and consequentlythe work is firmly drawn toward or pressed into engagement with saidchannel-guide during the rising movement of the take-up, and while thework is thus held in engagement with said channelguide the feeding-awlis moved into engagement with the work, and said feeding-awl andchannelgnide are then moved simultaneously to feed along the work. Thefeedingawl disengages the work as soon as it has accomplished itsprescribed function,and then both the feedingawl and channel-guidereturn. The back-gage is moved rearward while the work is thus held inengagement with the channel-guide by the action of the take-up and alsowhile the work is being fed along, but is afterward moved forward intoengagement with the work at a proper time to cooperate with thechannelguide in holding the work while the take-up descends. Thefeeding-awl and channel-guide are both located as close to the path ofmovel ment of the needle as possible and are moved i back and forthacross said path of movement of the needle in performing theirdesignated functions, and such location of the feedingawl andchannelguide places the point of resistance for the needle-threadsubstantially in l line with the pull of said needle-thread, soas toobviate tilting thework when the needle-thread take-up rises and pullsthe needle-thread taut and draws the work firmly into engagement withthe channel-guide. The back-gage or welt-guide is adapted to engage thework with a yielding pressure and to be locked in fixed position whenthus brought into engagement with the work and is adapted to properlyengage the work regardlcss of its thickness or variations in itsthickness, and means are provided for positively moving it rearward todisengage the work at proper times for the feeding operation.

Figure I is a left-hand-side elevation of a sewing-machine containingfeeding mechan- 7o ism embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a detailfront elevation of the feeding-awl and channel-guide and means foroperating them. Figs. 3 and 4 are details of the feeding-awl andchannel-guide and means for moving them back and forth across the pathof movement of the needle. Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of theoperating mechanism for I the backgage or welt-guide. Fig. (5 is a planview and partial horizontal section of the same. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 aredetails of the clutch mechanism to be referred to, and Fig.

10 is a detail of the channel-guide to be referred to.

The sewing-machine which we have herein shown for the sake ofillustrating this invention is the welt-sewing machine of ourapplication Serial No. (555,165, to which reference may be had.

The mainframe comprises, essentially, the upright or column A,surmounted by a table A, having erected thereon several verticaluprights A which are constructed and arranged to afford bearings for themain shaft I3, which has secured to it several operating cams, and saiduprights also afford bearings for a rod or bar C and for the otheroperatl ing parts of the machine.

on represents the take-up for the needlethread and is herein shown ascomprising an arm having at its extremity a roll over which theneedle-thread 2 passes, and said arm projects from a hub mounted uponthe bar C and is adapted to oscillate thereon as required, and an arm mprojects rearwardly from said hub, having at its rear extremity a stud,with or without a roll thereon, which enters a camgroove formed orprovided in one side or face of a cam wheel or disk which is secured tothe main shaft B.

p represents the channel-guide, (see Figs. 1, 4, and 10,) and it isherein represented as a short arm projecting in a lateral direction froman arm or other support 3), to which it is adjustably secured. The arm pextends upward and rearward and is screwed or otherwise secured to ahorizontally-disposed feedslide r, supported in a guideway r, formed inthe framework, and said slide a is adapted to be moved back and forth inthe direction of the feed of the work. The feed-slide 0' has a verticalstud 3 projecting from its upper side or face, which enters and works ina slot 4, formed or provided in an arm 9' pivoted at r to the front sideof said guideway or slidesupport r, and a stud o projects upward fromthe rear extremity of said arm 0 which enters a peripheral groove formedor provided in a cam wheel or disk D, which is secured to the main shaftB of the machine. As the arm 9 is swung to and fro on its pivot 1' bysaid cam-wheel D the feed-slide 0 will be moved back and forth in theguideway r provided for it, carrying with it the channelguide 19. Thechannel-guide 1) projects or extends into proximity to the path ofmovement of the needle and is designed to be moved back and forth acrossthe path of movement of the needle when operated, as best shown in Figs.3 and 4, wherein it will be seen in Fig. 3 that the point or engagingend of the channel-guide is at the right-hand side of the path ofmovement of the needle and in Fig. 4 that it is at the lefthand side ofthe path of movement of the needle, these two positions being the twoextremities of the movement of the channelguide.

8 represents a feeding-awl which may have any suitable form of engagingpoint, and said awl is secured to the end of a curved arm 8', which isformed or provided with an oblique shank 8 which passes up through abearing formed or provided for it and which is herein represented asformed integral with the support 1), which bears the channel-guide p,and said feeding-awl is operated in conjunction with said channel-guideto feed along the work. The feeding-awl will also occupy a positionclose to the path of movement of the needle and, like the channel-guide,will work back and forth across said path of movement of said needle, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4, being represented in Fig. 3 as at the right ofthe path of movement of the needle and in Fig. 4 as at the left of thepath of movement of the needle. The feeding-awl is operated to feedalong the work in conjunction with the channel-guide by themovement ofthe feed slide 1', to which it is attached, and it is operated to engageand disengage the work by turning its shank s on its axis, and, asherein shown, the oblique shank s has secured to and projectinglaterally from it a short arm 3 which is provided on its rear side witha swiveled block bearing ears 8*, to which is loosely attached the lowerend of a link 8 the opposite end of which is loosely connected to theextremity of an arm .9 projecting froma hub mounted on the bar C, saidhub having a rearwardly-projecting arm .9 (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,)which engages the cam D on the main shaft B. The axis of oscillation ofthe feeding-awl is herein shown as disposed at right angles to themovement of the feedslide and also as inclined rearward fromaperpendicular, and by oscillating said awl on such an axis relative tothe movement of the feed-slide it will be seen that its movement istoward and from the work and in a direction toward and from the verticalplane in which the needle works, and consequently when removed from thework will be swung to one side, so as to be out of the way of thestitchforming devices, and also when in such position will be lessliable to interfere with the operator.

A back-gage a, which in this instance also serves as the welt-guide, isformed with an elongated throat for the passage of the needle tand hasalso a guideway for the welt, and said guide a is adapted to be movedback and forth or toward and from the work to serve as a rest for thework when in engagement therewith and cooperates with the channelguideat certain times to hold the work stationary. The back-gage orwelt-guide a is adapted to bear upon the work with a yielding pressureregardless of the thickness of the stock, and thus when in engagementwith the work will occupy diiferent relative positions, according to thethickness of the stock. Automatic mean-s are provided for intermittinglymoving said back-gage or welt-guide u rearward or in a direction awayfrom the work while the work is being fed along, and said automaticmeans is constructed and arranged to always move said back-gage orweltguide rearwardly a predetermined distance regardless of the positionit occupies when in its forward positioni. 6., when in engagement withthe work.

The back-gage or welt-guide a is herein shown as attached to alongitudinally-sliding bar a, supported in bearings provided for it, andsaid sliding bar a has at its rear end a said clutch mechanism to engagesaid pin or bar u but also moves said pin 01' bar rearward, so as tocorrespondingly move rearward the back-gage or welt-guide. The clutchmechanism is connected with and operated by an arm H", which projectsdownward from a hub 11", mounted on a stud a, and an arm if 3 projectsupwardly from said hub If, which bears a stud so disposed as to enter acamgroove formed or provided in one side or face of a cam-wheel or diskD, being herein shown as formed in the right-hand side of said disk. Thearm u is moved back and forth by said cam-wheel, and its stroke is of apredetermined length, so that the clutch mechanism which is operated byit will be moved rearward at predetermined distance each time it isoperated to in turn correspondingly move rearward the back-gage orweltguide u. A spring it is attached at one end to the stud if and atthe opposite end to the arm 1/, the function of which is to draw theback-gage or welt-guide forward or into position to engage the work, andsaid spring thus holds the back-gage or welt-guide at all times exceptwhen the clutch mechanism is operated and the back-gage or weltguidemoved rearward against the action of said spring. The clutch mechanismhas as a cooperative part of it a sleeve a", (see Fig. 7,) which fitsloosely upon the pin or bar If, and said sleeve u" is formed or providedat its forward end with an end piece 14 which is loosely connected by apin or otherwise to the lower end of the arm 1/, so that said sleeve maybe moved back and forth by said arm. The sleeve a" is formed or providedat its rear end with two rearwardly-extended projections H, which aredisposed diametrically opposite each other, and said projections a havetheir inner or adjacent faces inclined relatively to the pin or bar a,as shown in Figs. 5 and T. The sleeve 11. is made shorter than the pinor bar u, so that the latter not only extends entirely through it, butprojects therefrom at each end, and a cap or flange 11 is secured to theforwardly-projecting end of said pin or bar, which is adapted to beengaged by the forward end of said sleeve 11 under certain conditions,yet during ordinary running of the machine said cap or flange will notbe so engaged. A roller-bearing support or shell 1/ is provided, whichalso forms a cooperative part of the clutch mechanism, and said supportor shell is made as a sleeve adapted to fit loosely upon or embrace thesleeve a". As

herein shown, said support or shell is composed of two like semicircularhalves or pieces (see Fig. 8) having ears at their opposite sides,whereby they may be bolted or otherwise sccured together to form acircular sleeve-like portion which embraces the sleeve '1", and eachhalfor portion has a rearward extension which is formed or provided witha vertical guideway adapted to receive the ends of a pair of rollers Hwhich are disposed one above and the other below the pin or bar a andarranged at rightangles to said pin or bar. \Vhen the two halves orportions of the support or shell u are secured together, it will be seenthat the two rollers I! will be held in the vertical guideway providedfor them and will bear loosely upon the pin or bar u The roller-bearingsupport or shell :1 is placed upon and supported by a sleeve 1/, and itscircular portion which embraces said sleeve u" located between theprojections u and the end piece H and said circular embracing portion ismade shorter than the distance between said projections a and end piecea so that it can move longitudinally thereon a short distance, ifdesired, and when said roller-bearing support or shell I! is thusdisposed on the sleeve 1/ its rearward extensions hold the rollers 1/ inclose proximity to the inclined portions of the projections w in orderthat said rollers may be engaged by said inclined portions to in turncause them to impinge upon the pin or bar (1.

A spring 1/ is connected at one end to the sleeve 11" -as, for instance,to one of the projections 1/" thereon-and at the other end to theroller-bearingsupportorshell u -as, for instance, to one of the earsthereon and the function of said spring 1/ is to normally keep theroller-hearing support or shell u in a fixed position on the sleeve H,orsubstantially so, and when said roller-bearing support or shell isthus held by said spring its circular embracing portion will occupy aposition subst-antially midway between the projections H and end pieceu", thereby providing a little space for play, in each direction. Thespring 1/ serves as the operating device for returning or moving forwardthe roller-bearing support or shell 1/ and for holding it in its extremeforward position. The extreme forward position of the roller-bearingsupport or shell u is determined by a lug if, projecting therefrom,which engages a lixed stop on the frame.

It will be seen that when the sleeve it is in its extreme forwardposition and the rollerbearing support or shell u likewise in itsextreme forward position the rollers will not impinge upon the pin orbar 1/, and consequently the back-gage or welt-guide is free to be movedrearward by hand against the action of the spring H", and it will alsobe seen that when the parts are in such relative position the back-gageor welt-guide u is held in its forward position by said spring a WVhenthe arm if is moved rearward, the sleeve M9 is also moved rearward adistance corresponding to the stroke of said arm, and the inclinedprojections 24 will immediately engage the rollers a which impinge uponthe pin or bar a and said pin or bar when thus engaged is also movedrearward a distance correspondingsubstantially to the stroke of the armat and as said pin or bar is attached to the back-gage or welt-guide ait will be seen that said back-gage or welt-guide will be moved rearwarda predetermined distance. WVhen the arm 24* returns or moves forward,the sleeve a is correspondinglymoved, and the projections 10 immediatelyrelieve the rollers from impingement upon the pin or bar a andconsequently said pin or bar and back-gage or weltguide connected withit is free to be immediately returned and brought into engagement withthe work by means of the spring 14 and the roller-bearing support orshell a is also returned by means of the spring 10 to its extremeforward position d. 0., until a lug n strikes the stop. Thus it will beseen that rearward movement of theclutch mechanism 6., the sleeve a androller-bearing support or shell it "is always a predetermined distancecorresponding to the stroke of the arm 10* and that the forward movementof the sleeve 10 is determined by said arm a, while the forward movementof the roller-bearing support or shell a is determined by the lug astriking the stop. The forward movement of the back-gage or welt-guide,however, is more or less variable, depending upon the thickness of thework-as, for instance, while it is always moved rearward a predetermineddistance regardless of whatever position it may occupy at the beginningof the stroke, yet when relieved it will be moved forward solely by thespring 215 until it engages the Worl and on account of variations inthickness it will consequently occupy different positions at thebeginning of its rearward stroke. Thus it will be seen that when thework is thick the back-gage or welt-guide will occupy a farther rearwardposition when engaged by the clutch mechanism than when the work isthin, and vice versa.

Instead of having the back-gage or weltguide bear upon the work with ayielding pressure incident to the employment of the spring 16 it isusually preferred to hold it stationary or look it in such position, yetsuch position will be variable according to the thickness of the stock,and consequently we have herein provided a locking device which isconstructed and arranged to lock the sliding bar a in any position thatit may occupy when the back-gage or welt-guide is moved forward intoengagement with the work. The locking device herein shown consists,essentially, of a plate o, having a serrated upper edge secured to oneside of said bar a, and a dog 4/ is adapted to engage it, which ispivoted at o to the frame, and said dog 1/ has a projection 41 which isengaged by a detent c", projecting downwardly from a hub '0 mounted on astud on the frame, said hub having an upwardlyeXtended arm 4;, whichbears a stud which is adapted to enter a cam-groove formed or providedin one side or face of the disk D being herein provided on the left-handside of said disk. The dog 1) is operated to engage the plate and holdthe back-gage or welt-guide in fixed position except when the arm a isoperating to move rearward said back-gage or welt-guide. An adjustablestop-pin u is provided, against which the plate '0 strikes, which limitsthe forward movement of the backgage or welt-guide, and the cap orflange a hereinbefore referred to, limits the rearward movement thereofindependent of the clutch mechanism, so that in any event said backgageor welt-guide will move within certain prescribed limits.

The operation of feeding the work along is as follows: While the take-upm is rising to set the stitch and is drawing the needle-thread taut, thework is being pulled by the needlethread toward the channel-guide p, andthe operator is thus assisted'in holding the work. After the stitch hasbeen set and while the work is yet firmly held up against thechannel-guide by the action of the take-up the feeding operation takes-place-that is to say, the feeding-awl moves into engagement with thework preparatory to feeding the work along and the back-gage orwelt-guide a recedes just as or before the feeding movement takes place,and the channel-guide and feeding-awl then both move a short distance ina direction toward the left, moving from one to the other side of thepath of movement of the needle and carrying the work along with it, andimmediately after or as soon as the work has been thus fed along theback-gage or welt-guide u moves forward into engagement with the work,so as to retard any retrograde motion, and the feeding-awl disengagesthe work at or about the same time, and the channelguide and disengagedfeeding-awl then move a short distance in a directiontoward the rightpreparatory to again operating to feed the work along. While it ispreferable for many reasons to operate the feeding devices at such timesand in the manner specified, yet we do not desire to thus limit ourinvention.

We claim- 1. In a sewing-machine, a needle, a feedingfinger and achannel-guide and means for moving both said feeding-finger andchannel-guide crosswise the path of movement of the needle, from aposition at one side of, to a position at the opposite side of saidneedle, substantially as described.

2. In a sewing-machine, a needle, a feedingfinger and a channel-guideand means for moving both said feeding-finger and channel-guidecrosswise the path of movement of the needle, from a position at oneside of, to a position at the opposite side of said needle, a backgageand means for reciprocating it in a direction toward and from saidfeeding-linger and channel-guide, substantially as described.

3. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a feeding-finger and achannel-guide, a takeup for the needle-thread operating on the same sideof the work that the feeding-finger and channel-guide are located, andmovable toward and from said feeding-finger and channel-guide andacting, by drawing the needlethread taut when setting the stitch, tohold the work firmly pressed into engagement with said feeding-lingerand channel-guide, and means for moving said feeding-tinger andchannel-guide from one to the other side of the path of movement of theneedle, to feed along the work while the work thus held by the take-up,substantially as described.

I. In a sewing-machine, a feeding-linger and a channel-guide, means formoving them back and forth crosswise the path of movement of the needle,from one side to the other side of said needle, a needle-thread ta ke-upoperating on the same side of the work that the feeding-finger andchannel-guide are located for holding the work pressed into engagementwith said feeding-finger and channel-guide by drawing the needle-threadtaut when setting the stitch while said feeding-linger and channel-guideoperate to feed along the work, and a back-gage cooperating with saidchannelguide, and means for moving it toward and from said channel-guideto engage and disengage the work, said back-gage disengaging the workwhile said feeding-finger and channel-guide operate to feed the workalong, substantially as described.

5. In a sewing-machine, the combination of stitch-forming devices,ahorizontally-reciproeating feed-slide movable toward and from saidstitch-forming devices, and an oscillating feeding-awl borne by saidslide having its axis ol" oscillation at right angles to the movement ofsaid slide, substantially as described.

6. .In a sewirig-machine, the combination of stitch-forming devices, ahorizontally-reciprocating feed-slide movable toward and from saidstitch forming devices, an oscillating feeding-awl borne by said slidehaving its axis of oscillation at right angles to the movement of saidslide and inclining rearward from a perpendicular, substantially asdescribed.

T. In a sewing-machine, the combination of stitch-forming devices,ahorizontally-reciproeating feed-slide movable toward and from saidstitclrforming devices, the fecding-awl a, curved arm s hearing ithaving a shank s oscillating in a bearing provided on said slide, theaxis of oscillation of said t'ceding-awl being at right angles to themovement of said slide, substantially as described.

8. In a sewing-machine, thecombination of stitch-forming devices, anoscillating feedingawl having its axis of oscillation at right angles tothe axis of the needle, means for moving said feeding-ital upward andbackward when disengaging the work, a feed-slide bearing saidfe(.dingawl, and means for moving said feed-slide in the direction ofthe feed of the work, substantially as described.

9. In a sewing-machine, the combination of stitch-forming mechanism, anoscillating teeding-awl movable in an upward and backward direction, theaxis of said t'ecding-awl being at right angles to the axis of theneedle, and means for moving said 't'ecding-awl bodily in the directionof the feed ol the work, substantially as described.

In testimony whereot' we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ZACIIARY 'l. FRENCH. \VI IiLl AM (J. MEYER.

\Vitnesscs:

B. J. Norms, J. L. IIU'FCIIINSON.

